CavinKare ABILITY Awards 2016

Venue: Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Concert Hall 
Harrington Road, Chennai

Jury:
Mr Arun Jain, Chairman & MD, Intellect Design Arena Ltd
Mr Mani Ratnam, Film Maker
Dr. Mariazeena Johnson, Director, Sathyabama University
Mr Rajiv Lochan, MD & CEO Kasturi & Sons (The Hindu Group)
Mr Santosh Radhakrishnan, Head, Corporate Business ,Tamilnadu and Kerala, Dainik Bhaskar Group.
Mr G. Venket Ram, Fashion Photographer
Chief Guest:
Shri.Mukul Wasnik - Hon. Union Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment,
Govt. of India

The event...
The 11th CavinKare Ability Awards at the Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao concert hall on the 9^th March was a showcase of excellence and inspiration as we recognised the immense achievements of each recipient. This year a special recognition award was given to nine-year-old Hridayeshwar Singh Bhati, the young inventor of six player chess. He was joined on stage with Deepa Malik, RJ Den and Samuel Ashish Marcus who each received a mastery award, and Ranjan Kumar Biswal, Founder of the Milton Charitable Foundation, who received the award for eminence.

Intermixed with inspiring speeches made by the jury members and guest of honour, Mr Vinod K. Dasari, the stage was lit up with elegant Orissi dance performances by the acclaimed Meera Das and her disciple Lopamudra Jena who performed in front of a backdrop of stars in the sky.

Although composer A.R.Rahman could not join us this year, he sent us his Infinite Love – the music video released in 2012 to celebrate the diversity of all life and culture around the world. In a touching and energising performance, children of the Clarke School for the Deaf, Deafblind and children with multiple disabilities, the VExcel Educational Trust for Children with Special Education Needs, and students from the Academy of Modern Danse took to the stage, joined by rap artist Blaaze.

This was a year of reflection and looking inwards as Dr. Mariazeena Johnson pledged to have her visiting cards printed in Braille, Gayathri Sriram urged the media to provide equal, positive coverage of persons with disabilities and the audience watched on in awe, providing standing ovations again and again.

Click to see the photo gallery.

The Awardees

CavinKare ABILITY Award for Eminence:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/YSW8Y8yKZtM?rel=0! K R RAJA Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu
K R Raja who became disabled due to polio, has found an unusual calling in life. His organization Global Network for Equality works to support the children of prisoners serving their time as life prisoners for homicide against their spouses. He believes that such children are left with no childhood to speak of, and therefore there is an imperative need for them to receive educational and all other support from society.

The CavinKare ABILITY Mastery Awards:

JUSTIN JESUDAS Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Justin has a spinal cord injury right from his neck downwards, as a result of a road accident in 2009. In a surprisingly short time, he has risen to become a star on the international swimming circuit, and ranked among the top 20 at the IPC World Swimming Championship in Glasgow in 2015. That he juggles the rigorous training of competitive swimming with a full time job with an IT major is a tribute to his zest, zeal and determination.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ccyhku209EM?rel=0!

Anjan is the youngest member of the Kerala Cartoon Academy and an art and computer science teacher at the Adarsh School. Given that he has cerebral palsy along with speech & hearing disability, his achievements are the result of his innate abilities and hard work, as well as tremendous family support.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/y-AezJT2S14?rel=0!